Aaron’s story begins with rapid success. Fresh out of college, he landed as Director of Operations for a Southern California homebuilder. By his early twenties, he was making six figures, golfing a few times a week, and living a lifestyle that looked bulletproof.
Then the housing market collapsed in 2009. Instead of folding, Aaron pivoted. He discovered a massive opportunity on the courthouse steps—buying foreclosures nobody else wanted. Between 2009 and 2012, he flipped over 1,000 homes, running teams of agents, contractors, and warranty crews.
He had built what seemed like an unstoppable machine. Until a giant walked onto the field.
In 2012, Blackstone entered the single-family rental space. They called Aaron directly: “Shut down your company and come work for us—or we’ll put you out of business.” Young and self-made, Aaron refused. Within months, Blackstone bought up everything on the auction market. Prices spiked, margins vanished, and Aaron’s business collapsed.
“I thought I was unstoppable. In six months, they proved me wrong.”
Aaron went from making hundreds of thousands a month… to applying for Uber driver gigs just to survive.
By 2015, Aaron was nearly broke. He couldn’t afford flights, his marriage was strained, and he felt the weight of failure pressing down.
Then came a fateful foreclosure auction in Killeen, Texas. He froze on his first deal—fear overcame him. But minutes later, he noticed houses selling for $30,000–$40,000 with no competition.
“It was California 2009 all over again. Nobody saw it yet, but I knew—this was my second chance.”
The difference this time? He wasn’t going to repeat old mistakes. Instead of flipping everything, Aaron kept rentals. Instead of burning through cash on staff and cars, he built leaner systems. Instead of chasing fast money, he played the long game.
By 2020, Aaron had amassed 500 rental properties. When the market spiked during COVID, those homes doubled or tripled in value. His patience turned into a windfall.
